SAXONBURG — Where else can you sip a mug full of homemade birch beer, ride in a horse-drawn cart and listen to a band of Scottish bagpipers, all at the same time?

Penn's Colony, of course.

Tucked into a little corner of Pennsylvania forest, the 23rd annual colonial festival, which ran all weekend, was full of surprises.

The festival continues next weekend.

As soon as visitors walked through the festival gates, they were confronted with an unusual sight — a dead fruit bat encased in glass, its tiny mouth opened in a permanent shriek.

"I did it originally as an attention-getter," said the bat display's creator, Brian Brenner of Punxsutawney. "But actually they've sold really well."

Brenner's work includes more than just fruit bats, though. His tent was full of colorful moths and butterflies, giant grasshoppers, katydids and spiders from all over the world, all trapped in glass and surrounded by a wooden frame.

Brenner said his fascination with bugs started at a young age.

"When I was younger I (collected bugs)," he said. "Then when I got older and traveled more, I made a lot of connections through my travels."

Soon, Brenner's business, Insect Creations, was born. Some of the insects he sells come from as far away as Peru, Russia, Indonesia and even China.

"I even have a cave spider, like the ones they ate on 'Fear Factor,'" he said.

Brenner's business does come with a disclaimer, though: No butterflies, bats or bugs are harmed in the process of making his insect art. Instead, the creatures are all farm raised and harvested after they live out their natural lives.

But was insect art even on the market in the colonial times?

"I believe it was," Brenner said. "They were into collecting and cataloging, but not to this degree, with all the different countries and stuff."

However, Brenner doesn't limit himself to colonial festivals. He sets up his tent at all kinds of events, but he said he does like some better than others.

"Any event that brings in lots of kids," Brenner said. "Their reactions are priceless."

And speaking of kids, there was plenty of entertainment for them at Penn's Colony, including leaf rubbing, potato stamping and panning for gems.

One vendor, though, was getting a lot of attention from the youngsters.

"They always seem to find me," said Jim Selinger of Saltsburg, Pa.

Selinger's woodcrafts tent featured plenty of interesting items, but the featured attraction was his rubber band gun display.

"Through the years it evolved," Selinger said of his business, JPS Woodcraft. "I have a sawmill, so I cut my own trees and my own boards, and make them into what you see here."

Selinger has been in the toy business for about 20 years.

"I designed most of my toys myself," he said. "I even designed a rubber band musket just for this show."

The musket is just the beginning. Selinger's rubber band pistol is unique in that the user gets to pull a wooden trigger instead of a clothespin mounted to the top of the gun.

His rubber band machine guns are distinctive as well. Each gun can hold up to 16 rubber bands and shoot up to 15 feet.

Selinger emphasizes, though, that #18 rubber bands used in the guns aren't thick enough to hurt other people.

"They'll knock down little army men or even flies," he said. "But to a person, they don't hurt; they're just kind of annoying."

Apparently, the kids don't mind. Selinger had a small audience of children at his tent for most of the day.

"The kids are always crowded around," he said.

<b>WHAT: </b>The 22nd annual Penn's Colony Festival<b>WHEN: </b>10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday<b>WHERE: </b>Festival grounds, 365 Saxonburg Blvd., off Route 228 in Saxonburg<b>ADMISSION: </b>$6.50 for adults ages 16 to 59, $4.50 for senior citizens 60 and older, $3.50 for children 8 to 15, and free for those younger than 8. On-site parking is free.<b>INFORMATION: </b>Call 724-352-9922.